Anti-inflammatory medicine for children’s sprained feet?

Sprained ankle is a very common phenomenon in daily life. Both adults and children can experience sprains. If the wound becomes inflamed after a sprain, it is best not to treat it yourself. It is best to go to the hospital and let the doctor treat it. If it is a common sprain, you can use iodine to wipe the wound. Try to reduce activities as much as possible to avoid affecting the recovery of the wound. When resting, be sure to raise the affected area to relieve pain or edema.

A sprained ankle generally refers to a sprained ankle joint. The ankle joint is mainly composed of the lower ends of the tibia and fibula, the talus and the calcaneus, and its stability is mainly maintained by the medial and lateral collateral ligaments and surrounding related muscles. Because the medial collateral ligament is relatively stronger than the lateral collateral ligament, ankle sprains are often supination injuries of the ankle, mainly affecting the lateral collateral ligament, and sometimes other ligaments, and even fractures or cartilage damage to the joint.

How to deal with it correctly at an early stage is a question often asked by clinical orthopedic surgeons and patients. In clinical practice, we often encounter people who have sprained their ankles. When they go to the hospital for a check-up, they find that there is some local swelling but they can move freely. An X-ray shows no fracture. Some doctors may prescribe some local medication and the patient can go home. Some people go to the hospital for a check-up and find that there is no bone problem as mentioned above, but the doctor thinks that they need to be fixed with plaster or a brace for 2 or 3 weeks, as they think there is ligament damage. The patient was very confused and thought that there was no problem with the bone, so why put a plaster on it? It was like making a fuss out of nothing. The above situation is often encountered by orthopedic surgeons, especially traumatologists. Many of these patients often sprain their ankles in their later life or activities, and it is the same ankle, or the ankle becomes swollen and painful when walking for a long time or moving more. A detailed inquiry into the medical history reveals that the initial ankle sprain was not handled well or even not taken seriously, and was simply treated, leaving subsequent problems. So how do you correctly treat the most common ankle sprain? To correctly treat ankle sprains, we must first correct some common misconceptions.

Myth 1: “Because I can move, I can’t have a broken bone”

This view is wrong. Some people often stand up immediately after spraining their ankle and move their ankle. If there is no severe pain, they continue walking. In fact, the above approach is inappropriate.

When an ankle sprain occurs, even if there is no fracture, the ligaments around the joint may be damaged or even ruptured. In fact, sometimes you can walk even with a broken bone. For example, the more common avulsion fractures of the lateral and medial malleolus, and some fractures that are not displaced at the time, are easily overlooked. Due to the existence of the above-mentioned idea, many injuries are not treated in time, and the best time for treatment is missed. Some patients also become chronic due to inappropriate initial treatment, which greatly increases the difficulty of subsequent treatment and even leaves partial disability and affects joint function.

Myth 2: "There is no need to go to the hospital for examination and treatment for a sprained ankle"

Once an ankle sprain occurs, it needs to be taken seriously and not thought to be a big deal. Do not wait until the swelling and pain symptoms have not improved after a few weeks or even a month before you think of seeing a doctor for examination and X-rays. At this time, if it is found that the fracture is not well positioned, the joint is unstable, and the ligaments are damaged, it will be difficult to completely reduce the fracture anatomically. The optimal treatment period for fracture and ligament injuries has expired. The correct approach to an ankle sprain is to seek prompt examination and treatment from a specialist.

Myth 3: "Ankle injuries should be treated with hot compresses immediately"

When you sprain your ankle, do not apply hot compress immediately, because hot compress will cause local blood flow to accelerate, leading to increased swelling of local soft tissue, nerve compression, deeper pain, and even local blisters.

The correct approach is: once there is an injury, cold compress should be applied immediately (preferably ice and water). You can wrap an ice pack in a towel and apply it to the injured surface. This can play a good role in preventing excessive swelling of local tissues and relieving pain. If there is no ice, you can buy some popsicles, crush them and apply them to the injured area, and seek medical attention as soon as possible.

Myth 4: "Use ginger and wine to massage a sprained ankle"

When you sprain your ankle, wrist or other parts of your body, some folk remedies include massaging with your palms, or rubbing with ginger and wine. These methods will cause the blood vessels in the injured soft tissue to dilate, accelerate blood flow and increase exudation, aggravating local swelling and pain.

The correct approach is: once a sprain occurs, the injured part should be elevated and fixed, and ice packs or cold compresses should be used to reduce swelling and pain. At the same time, you should seek medical treatment from a professional as soon as possible. If necessary, X-rays or (and) CT and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) should be taken to check whether there are fractures or dislocations in the joints or torn ligaments.

Myth 5: “Wrapping a sprained ankle with a soft bandage”

Once an ankle sprain occurs, you should seek medical attention promptly and perform local protective immobilization. Immobilization methods include elastic bandages, plaster, or brace fixation. The main purpose is to protect the injured soft tissue and ligaments to facilitate healing and repair. The principle is just like when our skin is cut, it needs to be sutured to allow it to heal well. Do not stimulate the wound too much before the stitches are removed, so that the wound can heal well. Therefore, once an ankle sprain occurs, the ankle should be reliably fixed and braked. Local fixation can protect the joint and promote soft tissue repair.